September’s Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme spotlight shines on InsideOut, a company on a mission to make affordable, accessible mental healthcare available to 100 million people worldwide. Through its innovative app, Remi, InsideOut is working to tackle the mental health poverty gap by giving more people access to timely, personalised support, regardless of their circumstances or location.
Founded by CEO, Laura Stembridge, the organisation is combining technology and lived experience to help transform how mental health support is delivered and accessed. In this spotlight, Laura shares why the health and care system should be excited about their innovation plus advice for others seeking to develop innovative solutions.
What advice would you give budding innovators?
- Don’t be afraid to start.
You’ll never know whether an idea could work until you try. Don’t let fear of failure, or concern about what others might think, hold you back. Most people around you want to see you succeed, and even an idea that doesn’t work out will teach you something valuable. The real failure is never trying. - Choose something you genuinely care about.
Don’t start a health innovation purely for financial gain. Build something you believe in and that you feel can make a meaningful difference. Passion will sustain you through the difficult days. If you solve an important problem well, success, and potentially financial rewards, will follow. - Start with the problem, not the product.
Before building anything, speak to the patients, clinicians, customers and other people who will actually use it. The problem you imagine may not be the problem they experience, or it may not be important enough for them to change their behaviour. Listen carefully, ask questions and test your assumptions early. - Prototype before you perfect and understand who will pay.
You don’t need a finished product to test an idea. Tools such as Figma and AI platforms make it easier than ever to create simple prototypes and gather feedback. Avoid chasing perfection before you know whether people want what you are building. In healthcare, it is also essential to identify the customer, understand who controls the budget, and determine whether they are genuinely willing and able to pay for the solution. - Be prepared to persevere.
The founder journey can be relentless. There will be exciting highs, but there will also be setbacks, uncertainty and periods when progress feels painfully slow. The people who succeed are often those with the grit, determination and resilience to keep going, learn from what isn’t working, and put in the effort required to make progress.
How has user feedback, particularly from patients and clinicians, shaped your product?
User feedback has shaped every layer of the product. Early research showed that people wanted a human-like avatar that acts as an active coach, with the ability to personalise Remi’s appearance to enhance relatability. That’s exactly how Remi® was built: through co-design.
Findings from our pilots, which explored AI avatar-led interventions underpinned by mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for stress and anxiety, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for low mood, have informed refinements to our conversational flow, onboarding process and interactive guided programmes. Every iteration is clinically reviewed through our human-in-the-loop governance model.
Why should the health and care system be excited about your innovation?
We’ve built for two of the system’s toughest challenges:
1) The gap between referral and treatment
Too often, people deteriorate while waiting for support, fail to join waiting lists, or drop off waiting lists altogether.
2) The post-intervention continuous care gap
Many people experience recurring symptoms after a course of CBT, while others find that an initial intervention does not provide sufficient long-term support. InsideOut steps in at the point of referral with immediate support, from 24/7 conversations with Remi® to structured programmes based on CBT, IPT and MBCT frameworks. These incorporate habit-building, symptom monitoring and signposting to crisis services. We also support patients after an intervention through access to continuous care.
InsideOut has also met the same standards expected of NHS-approved digital health tools. We are a Class I medical device, NHS DTAC-compliant, and operate with clinical safety oversight under DCB0129.
Our recent RCT explores the use of Remi® to deliver clinical interventions for depression, insomnia and relationship challenges, helping people remain in work. The results are still being analysed, but early indications are very positive.
“I forgot she was not a real person… [It] felt like I was talking to a human being…..It’s just immediate… you’ve got a feeling and it’s there straight away. You don’t have to wait for the next week’s appointment. [It provides] an immediate response and support mechanism.”
Patient 1
“I’m a primary school teacher. I took a key lesson from the app and applied it directly… The active listening was actually really good. It was really helpful – I have actually used that at school.”
Patient 2
How could your innovation tackle inequalities in mental health?
The biggest inequality in mental health is access. More than half of people experiencing mental health difficulties do not receive timely support, and waiting times for talking therapies can exceed 12 months in some areas. As people deteriorate while waiting, they often require more intensive and costly care, increasing pressure on the NHS, employers and individuals alike.
InsideOut removes these barriers by providing immediate access to support, with no referrals or waiting lists. Support is available 24/7, including one-to-one sessions within 24 hours. Early intervention can prevent problems from escalating and reduce the need for more intensive treatment later on.
Accessibility is equally important. Because support is self-paced and available around the clock, it fits around shift work, caring responsibilities and busy schedules in a way that traditional appointments often cannot.
Stigma is another barrier. Remi® supports text-based conversations, with voice interaction already available in our guided CBT programmes. Using clear, non-clinical language helps engage diverse populations, and many users tell us they find it easier to open up to AI without fear of judgement. As a result, people who might otherwise delay or avoid seeking help can access support when they need it most.
What XR success story would you like to share with us?
One participant joined the RCT for the Remi® AI avatar-led CBT programme while experiencing panic attacks, intrusive negative thoughts and a severe lack of motivation. Through the InsideOut® CBT programme, they gradually regained confidence, became more productive in their daily life, felt more in control of their thoughts, and described the programme as having helped them “tremendously” on their road to recovery. They said they would “absolutely” continue using it.
What type of support are you seeking most from readers to help drive your project forward?
We are looking for partners to take part in the next round of pilots and to collaborate on further clinical research studies.
If you are a GP practice, NHS primary or secondary care provider, Talking Therapies service, ICB, or employer interested in exploring the use of InsideOut® and Remi® in a real-world setting, we would love to hear from you.
We are particularly interested in exploring use cases that support patients who:
- Do not wish to be referred to talking therapies and may otherwise disengage from the care pathway.
- Are waiting for treatment or have completed a course of treatment and could benefit from additional support to prevent relapse or the recurrence of symptoms.
As an early adopter, you will help shape the future development of the platform and have the opportunity to see firsthand the impact that AI-supported mental health care can deliver before it becomes mainstream.
If you are looking to address a specific challenge in mental health support, please get in touch at hello@lettheinsideout.com.
Want to find out more about our Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme?
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